The gaming giant says the consoles need a day-one patch
For the first time in 20 years, Nintendo has decided not to send console review units to the press before launch.
A report from Video Game Chronicle says a company spokesperson confirmed there would be no pre-launch review units for the press. Further, the report suggests that the press will receive units after launch, once an update with unnamed “important features” hits on June 5.
This is likely an excuse since consoles have been at events worldwide. Additionally, many other devices ship to press without final software updates, so there is precedent for this.
Overall, this means that anyone waiting to see how long the battery life is and if other new features like Game Chat work well will have to wait until the console is already on store shelves. There is also the worry that many critics will have to rush their reviews after launch to try to be the first to post.
When you look at this from Nintendo’s perspective, you can see why they might want to hold back the console from the press. To start, the company will almost certainly sell out of millions of units within days or hours of release. Keeping the console out of the media until then will help the company stick to a planned narrative. That’s not to say that Nintendo expects Switch 2 reviews to be bad; I expect it to be the opposite. However, the press is unpredictable, so one rogue bug or a wave of people against the new price could derail the hype around the console.
Source: Video Game Chronicle
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
